5 Inexpensive and Dermat-approved Ways to Grow Hair Faster

Confined at home without salon access, hair spas, the deep conditioning treatments and the trims by your hairstylist, its natural for you to worry about your lustrous locks. If hair fall is your constant worry, then you aren’t alone. Dr Deepali Bhardwaj, dermatologist and hair transplant surgeon, the founder of Skin and Hair clinics, says, “The biological cycle of hair has five phases—anagen, catagen, telogen, exigent and bud (early anagen). These five phases are all related to the hormones, vitamins in your body and your stress levels. The more stressed out you are, the more the hair fall.” The current pandemic and social distancing has shot up stress levels in most of us. “With people staying at home for months, the skin bacteria ph has changed. Some have developed oily scalp, while others are suffering from frizzy hair problems. But the most common complaint that I receive is  of excessive hair fall,” adds Dr Deepali. 

However, you can still arrest hair fall and grow thicker hair by making a few tweaks to your daily hair care routine. Here’s what you need to do. 

Count on the good old oil massage

Dr Deepali advises oiling your hair twice a week. The best way to do this is to warm the oil and massage the scalp in circular motions. “Add crushed mustard seeds to the oil, for better results,” suggests Dr Deepali. 

Shampoo your hair twice a week

Even if you are not stepping outside, your scalp tends to get oily and attracts dirt and dandruff. This also leads to hair fall. “Use a mild shampoo to cleanse your hair. Avoid using a conditioner as it has chemicals. For conditioning, you can apply a little oil to the ends of your hair and leave it on,” says Dr Deepali.

Stay off the blow dryer 

Heat can damage your hair. Since, you are at home and have time to spare, towel dry your hair and let it air dry. Avoid using blow dryers.  

Pop the pill

Take a biotin supplement if you need immediate results, suggests Dr Deepali. Biotin, a B vitamin, promotes hair growth. Though you can get this from your regular diet, just to ensure you are getting enough, you can switch to a specialised hair vitamin for a while.

Get on to a nutritious diet

Add food rich in zinc and selenium like lentils, brown rice, peas and white meat to your diet. “Eat antioxidant-rich food like red, yellow, green and purple vegetables for better results,” says Dr Deepali.